Diploma (LON:DPLM) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 4,802 ($60.43) and last traded at GBX 4,802 ($60.43), with a volume of 603928 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,762 ($59.92).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DPLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Diploma from GBX 4,370 ($54.99) to GBX 4,420 ($55.62) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 5,100 ($64.18) target price on shares of Diploma in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Shore Capital downgraded Diploma to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 4,567.50 ($57.47).

Diploma Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is GBX 4,402.68 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 4,385.77. The stock has a market cap of £6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.17, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Diploma (LON:DPLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported GBX 96.50 ($1.21) EPS for the quarter. Diploma had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 9.25%. As a group, analysts predict that Diploma PLC will post 163.7995512 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were given a dividend of GBX 42 ($0.53) per share. This is a positive change from Diploma’s previous dividend of $17.30. This represents a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. Diploma’s payout ratio is presently 65.52%.

Insider Transactions at Diploma

In other news, insider Chris Davies acquired 3,917 shares of Diploma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,280 ($53.86) per share, with a total value of £167,647.60 ($210,957.09). Also, insider Jennifer Ward bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,250 ($53.48) per share, for a total transaction of £42,500 ($53,479.30). Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Diploma Company Profile

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.